SmallCaliberCentral

I dump the pan back in to the hopper if it goes over. Pulling powder out of the pan is time consuming and (for me) usually messy! I feel like a loon every time I mention this, but I will again. Check out the Dandy Omega electric powder trickler, Sinclair Int. has them. It is battery operated, has high and low speed. The controller is on an 18" cord so you never touch or bump the hopper. Operates by vibration and is adjustable. I worked up VT loads without even using the measure. High speed gives you good flow and low will drop ONE kernel at a time. Even though it vibrates, it is very quiet. Silly thing but, it really has worked out well for me.

janesy wrote: I understand completely, and agree Darkker, However if one charge drops at 24.5 an then the next at 24.9, then I really doubt it's the volume vs weight. More likely the until is not dispensing equal volumes each time.

Taking your original post AND this one, I don't know if you are following.

Originally you said "but with my 204, that .1 grain makes a big difference.". Unless you are using the WAY wrong powder or an already too hot load, .1gr is not noticeable. That is less than half of 1% difference in the load. Without something else being out of place, that won't produce a detectable difference.

Weight Vs. Volume, you can't just weigh a volume charge and expect them be the same. Ramos powders can agrevate the issue certainly.

Rather than guessing "More likely the until is not dispensing equal volumes each time".
Test your dispenser, and be certain of what the issue is. You need to compare "volume dispensed-to- volume dispensed". Not volume dispensed-To-weight dispensed.

I use General Dynamics ball powder(Win & Hodgy), they meter flawlessly. Win 748 and CFE223 are very small and easy to work with, But I routinely have charge weights that vary 1/2 grain or slightly more. I have taken many of those variations, and re-measured them by volume(cc's again). The volume thus far, has always been the same, only the weight varied. Had my volume varied, then I would know that something was afoul with the dispenser.

Ok, well at the risk of being theoreticized to death, I am going to confirm that I am aware of the difference between weight and volume.

I am also going to confirm that .1 grain does in fact make a difference, you being the only person so far to suggest other wise. To each their own, I am glad it does not matter in your rifle. However if it were not the case, why would everyone else be loading in tenths? Regardless, I am talking about differences in up to 3 to 4 tenths.

Here's the fact, theories aside. My dispenser is dispensing unequal amount of powder, whether it be in weight, mass, volume or other wise. The loads are different, not the same, varying from one and other, no two alike, not matching. Feel free to quote that if you like, whatever helps.


So do you have a powder dispenser to recomend or just planning on wowwing me with brain power?

The Redding BR series is very popular.
Love my Ohaus 7200 Duo-Measure.
Want to try a Belding & Mull someday.
Was loaned a baby Harrell's Precision once. Loved the feel of it and it was gorgeous! The math came out that it had an accuracy advantage of 0.003% over my Ohaus! Decided I could not justify buying one. Still, it was a work of art!!!

I am stubbornly old-school but, a lot of guys are bypassing the whole measure thing with the electronic dispensers.

Not trying to wow anyone. Just wanted to make sure you tested the true volume, since you used words like "likely" not being consistent. Handloaders are the ones that do 10ths, Factories do volume dispensing.

For your recomendations:

If you like the "auto" type dispensers. I have several buddies who swear by the RCBS systems, either the 750 or 1500 chargemasters. One in particular loves the 750, but will acknowledge that they seem to last(for him) only about 2 years before things end-up in a hand basket. He had the Hornady system, but "hated that sum B*%^$". Never gave me any more details, but I know he double checks some of the RCBS loads with the Hornady scale still.

http://www.quick-measure.com/index.htm
These are great for the guy that uses extruded powders. I have found mine to toss extreemly consistant charges of powders like R22, H4831, imr4350 etc.
Ball powder are spot on for all practical purposes. The only measure I am aware of that "may" do better is the Harrells at twice the $$

The scale type dispensers by RCBS, Lyman and others are probably the most consistant and accurate for the average handloader
http://www.6mmbr.com/powderdispensers01.html

Some powder does not drop consistently, depends on kernel thickness and length.

My favorites are the RCBS, but WITH baffle and micrometer adjustment and the Hornady Model M with baffle and micrometer adjustment.

The Quick measure looks interesting. I'm going to look further into that one. Thanks!

Once I spent the $289 on the RCBS chargemaster, my reloading experience changed 100% for the better.

Bodei, How many times have you left the powder drain open when you changed powders? A couple a times of that and I started putting a plain piece of white paper under the chargemaster just in case I did it again. All in all I agree. A great powder dispenser!

Promapper wrote:Bodei, How many times have you left the powder drain open when you changed powders? A couple a times of that and I started putting a plain piece of white paper under the chargemaster just in case I did it again. All in all I agree. A great powder dispenser!

Only three times, but none recently!

Promapper wrote:Bodei, How many times have you left the powder drain open when you changed powders? A couple a times of that and I started putting a plain piece of white paper under the chargemaster just in case I did it again. All in all I agree. A great powder dispenser!

I've done it a few times too and that seems to be the magic number. Three times and lesson learned. Now I remember to check and double check before filling with powder.

Three times huh??? I'm not telling how many times I did it. Suffice it to say it has been more than three but now I keep a piece of clean paper under it. That is the only thing keeping it from 5 stars in my book. Maybe keep it rotating to empty but spring loaded. That would earn 5 stars !